Gratitude is an attitude

It’s the Thanksgiving holiday coming up soon enough, and perhaps you’re starting to hear a lot about gratitude. I sometimes hear people link gratitude practice to toxic positivity, and **I wholeheartedly disagree! Can we talk about this for a minute?**

Gratitude involves acknowledging and appreciating the positive aspects of life, without dismissing or ignoring the negative ones. It is about cultivating a mindset that recognizes and expresses appreciation for the blessings, big or small, that we encounter daily. Toxic positivity, on the other hand, denies the complexity of human emotions and forces us to suppress genuine feelings.

Did you know there are scientific studies on gratitude? At the University of California at Berkeley, they’ve been researching this for a while. One of their findings involves writing gratitude letters! I love this idea. They found this writing practice helps to shift rumination way from emotions such as resentment or envy that we can often get stuck on, especially if we spend too much time on social media. It also counteracts our natural negativity bias, where we tend to put more mental emphasis on negative events, and downplay the good.

When you write about how grateful you are to others and how much other people have impacted your life positively, it might become considerably harder for you to ruminate on negative aspects, leading to a more balanced mindset.

‍How to write a gratitude letter:

• ⏱ Set aside 20-30 minutes for yourself
• 💭 Think of someone who did something for you in the past (or recently), for which you are extremely grateful but to whom you never expressed your deep gratitude. This could be a friend, family member, or anyone in your life you are grateful for!
• ✍️ Address them directly, start your letter with, “Dear ____”
• 💬 Tell them specifically what they did, why you are grateful to them, and how they affected your life. Try to be as concrete as possible.
• 💖 Describe how you often remember their efforts now, at this point in your life.
• 💌 It needn’t be long! One page is great — a handful of sentences.
• 📓 If you’re feeling brave, deliver it! Or, just keep it in your journal and reflect on your letters when you need to be reminded of good things in your life.

I hope this helps you develop a balanced mindset, and find things to feel good about daily, and not take those things for granted.

I’m truly grateful that you’re here in my online community! 🙏

Lots of love,

Sara

xxoo

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